Wellness

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WELLNESS - PAGE 2

NEW DELHI: Online marketplace Flipkart told its sellers on Thursday evening that it was discontinuing the sale of products under the sexual wellness category "as per government norms". It will continue to sell condoms. "Current listings under this category will not be visible to customers with immediate effect," Flipkart said in a message to sellers. But it did not respond to ET's queries. In January, the crime branch of the Delhi Police had requested the information and broadcasting ministry to look into the online sale of such products.

KOLKATA: Beauty and wellness major VLCC is in talks with several companies in the wellness space, based both in India and abroad, for possible acquisitions. VLCC is also planning a joint venture with a US-based company specialising in the medical spa business. VLCC group founder-mentor Vandana Luthra told ET: "We are in talks with several players, including a Singapore-based dermatological company, a pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai and a Hong Kong-based company for possible acquisitions.

As per an audit report by Ernst & Young, The Indian Spa and Wellness market is estimated at Rs11,000 crores and growing at 25-30 per cent per annum. The need of having a healthy body and a healthy mind is making people opt for various kinds of wellness products and services. Aerobics, yoga, spa treatments, fitness training, medical systems such as Ayurveda and naturopathy, beauty therapy, slimming and nutrition, etc are in the limelight like never before. This high rise in demand has led many entrepreneurs step into this field.

NEW DELHI: Dabur India has put its wellness retail chain 'new-u' on the block, just two years after announcing its launch in March 2007. The Delhi-based FMCG company has mandated Grant Thornton to get a buyer for its retail venture, people familiar with the matter said. They said Dabur has lost interest in the chain as the economic downturn has made the environment tough for the company to pursue its retail plans. The venture had a struggling existence marked by slow growth ?

Driving to office last month, a colourful advertisement by the roadside caught my attention. "Learn Yoga: The New Age Fitness Mantra", screamed the hoarding. What intrigued me was not the liberal use of colours or the exquisitely executed asana, but the unlikely juxtaposition - Yoga and New Age! So what's making a multi-thousand year tradition today's beat? And it isn't only Yoga that is on the consumer's menu. Pilates, Ayurveda, gyms, meditation are in. Running is the new road rage – over 30,000 people ran the 2007 Mumbai marathon up from around 20,000 in 2004, its first year.

The Dalai Lama reveals secrets of a blissful life to ET-Travel His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso graced the 7th Global Spa & Wellness Summit held recently in New Delhi as a keynote speaker. With his unique blend of insight and humour, he elaborated extensively on "What is Wellness?" He says that happiness is the key to overall wellness. There are a few things that are necessary in order to achieve a happy life apart from physical wellbeing, and these include a happy mind, compassion, trust, friendship and affection.

CHENNAI: Buoyed by good overseas enquiries for its two-year-old holistic and wellness centre Sanjeevanam, FMCG group Cholayil, with Medimix as its flagship brand, is keen on entering Dubai and London. It also plans to have a national presence through the franchisee mode in a big way. The group, which also plans to foray into the hospitality business, currently runs its wellness clinics providing treatment in ayurveda, naturopathy in addition to a restaurant where only "satvik (holistic)

MUMBAI: The Yash Birla group is considering an overseas foray for its ayurvedic health and wellness centres, but this would be done only after consolidation of its domestic operations, a top group official said. "It (overseas foray) is something that we will definitely undertake. And it would be much bigger than what we do in the domestic space," Yash Birla Group Chairman Yash Birla told PTI here. The group runs its ayurvedic business in a joint venture with Kerala Vaidyashala, having recently bought a majority stake in the Kerala-based entity.

NEW DELHI:After introducing watches equipped with heart rate monitor in India, Timex is expanding portfolio in the health and wellness category and may launch timepiece that can count calories in the next 6-7 months. "Earlier, we felt there was no market for such products (health and wellness category) in India but young people are increasingly getting health conscious and going to gyms. So we feel this is the right time to launch these products," Timex Group India Managing Director V D Wadhwa said.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Traditional wellness systems like Ayurveda have a vital role to play in tackling health challenges and their scientific standardisation and protection are important, Union Minister of State for Ayush Shripad Yesso Naik said here today. "A foresighted compromise between traditional and modern system is vital and in this context the protection and preservation of traditional knowledge is important", Naik said. He was speaking after inaugurating the Traditional Innovation Kerala (TKIK)